B.P. EMPLOYEES yesterday agreed to call off an indefinite strike after an
agreement was reached on renewal of a collective agreement between unions
and the company.

The dispute arose during negotiations when demands for a rise in pensions
and redundancy pay were denied.

A proposal issued by the Labour Ministry's mediation service clarifying the
arrangements for pension increases caused outrage among the employees who
staged 24- and 48-hour strikes last week.

But the talks that took yesterday did not satisfy Exxon-Mobil employees who
were also on strike and who vowed to stay out indefinitely until all their
demands are met.

A statement from BP said the strike has been called off and petrol stations
on the island and at airports and ports will be back in business from
tomorrow.

Speaking to the Sunday Mail, PEO union spokesman Athos Eleftheriou said
BP had agreed to the employees' demands.

“BP has agreed to pay 100 per cent of Cost of Living Allowance,” he said.

“Their employees have agreed to the terms and the strike has been called
off.”

On Friday, BP Chairman George Petrou said that if the strike continued,
petrol stations on the island would be left without fuel from early next
week, leading to speculation that the same would apply for Esso and Mobil
petrol stations, run by Exxon-Mobil, if an agreement is not reached by
tomorrow.

EXHUMATIONS to identify the remains of 14 Turkish Cypriots killed during
clashes with the National Guard at Alaminos village in 1974 were stopped
yesterday after a refusal by the Turkish Cypriot side to allow the victims'
relatives to provide blood samples and information on their loved ones.

According to the Larnaca Press the government yesterday told a Turkish
Cypriot representative in the investigative committee about the discovery
of the remains and asked that blood samples be taken from the victims'
relatives in order to identify the remains through DNA testing.

However, the Turkish Cypriot side refused to provide the Physicians for
Human Rights organisation with the samples, leaving scientists with no
other option but to halt the investigation because of the lack of evidence.

The remains were covered and investigations are expected to resume in
February, if the samples can be collected from the relatives then.

POLICE in Italy seized around 10,000 ancient coins, among them 150 from
Cyprus, that were destined for sale on the Internet.

The Italian Embassy in Nicosia said the Italian authorities launched an
investigation near San Marino after reports from Interpol in Rome that a
company based there was selling coins over the Internet.

A police search at a house close to the border with San Marino netted
around 10,000 coins as well as other archaeological finds.

Further investigation into the suspect company's accounts uncovered a
criminal organisation that had made millions of euros from selling stolen
antiquities in Italy and abroad, the embassy said.